Customer Reviews

The Night My Mother Met Bruce Lee: Observations on Not Fitting In

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i am so happy to have stumbled upon this book. This author is so intelligent, observant, witty and creative. This book was charming and relatable. i laughed aloud as some of my own personal experiences were so similar, it was amazing. Rekdal is able to put into words feelings that i hadn't been able to describe. Even if one hasn't had cultural identity questions about him/herself this book is enjoyable and some sentences read almost like poetry. Her stories are very insightful and she captures the essence of how people think and react.

Ms. Rekdal's numerous observations are personal and touching. Many Americans have struggled with an identity crisis. I understand fully the crushing power of long and brutal silences mentioned in the text. I am so glad that Ms. Rekdal is not silent at all.

There are always stereotypes to be stripped down, aren't there?

Rekdal's themes (race, how Americans are perceived overseas, how Americans perceive each other) make you think, but her writing won't make you struggle. Her essays, built around episodes of her life, are sad, funny, entertaining and insightful.

An excellent book. Highly recommended. I wish I could teach a course called "Race in America" just so I could get more people to read this book.

Well, you have BOTH Ha Jin AND Arthur Golden praising it on the back cover--what can you expect? (I like one and not the other). While the cover made me think that this was going to be a "wacky," irreverent account by a young, half-Chinese woman, the book is instead an extremely well-written, thought-provoking colletion of essays. Rekdal is a poet, and it shows in her evocative descriptions, in her lyrical passages, in an effortlessly beautiful line. Rekdal pulls it off without being narcisstic or excessively introspective; the book succeeds brilliantly. Though the essay's topics are somewhat disjointed--they go from America to Korea to China to childhood, etc--the disconnected structure seems to be part of the point: as the subtitle suggests, these are "observations on not fitting in." I liked her juxtaposition of the uncanny, the frustrating, the disappointing things along with the beautiful, the personal, the "mini-epiphanic" aspects.

And yes, she is also very witty. The humor is very sharp. I found myself laughing hysterically at an Elvis reference and I normally don't find him amusing. Finally, as someone who also spent a year in a small city in Korea, I was delighted that she related experiences that I shared myself when I taught high school students in South Korea.

Well, you have BOTH Ha Jin AND Arthur Golden praising it on the back cover--what can you expect? (I like one and not the other). While the cover made me think that this was going to be a "wacky," irreverent account by a young, half-Chinese woman, the book is instead an extremely well-written, thought-provoking colletion of essays on ethnicity and identity. Rekdal is a poet, and it shows in her evocative descriptions, in her lyrical passages, in an effortlessly beautiful line rendered for the reader's benefit. Grappling with the vexatious issue of personal identity, Rekdal comes up with great insight and meaning into the problem without being narcisstic or excessively introspective; the book succeeds brilliantly wihtout offering any simple, pat conclusions. Though the essay's topics are somewhat disjointed--they go from America to Korea to China to childhood, etc--the disconnected structure seems to be part of the point: as the subtitle suggests, these are "observations of not fitting in." I liked her juxtaposition of the uncanny, the frustrating, the disappointing things along with the beautiful, the personal, the "mini-epiphanic" aspects.

And yes, she is also very witty. The humor is very sharp. I found myself laughing hysterically at an Elvis reference and I normally don't find him amusing. Finally, as someone who also spent a year teaching high school students in a small city in Korea, I was delighted and amazed to read about experiences that I related to. I'm grateful for that alone, but it's a great book in all other aspect as well.

This highly original book is refreshing for its insights into a topic that has been discussed inumerable times in the news media. Ms Rekdal reflects upon mother/daughter relationships, racial and sociological problems, all without preachiness.